Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $8.7\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$139$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Explanation: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${8.7\%} \times {\$139} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $8.7\%$ is equivalent to $8.7 \div 100$ $8.7 \div 100 = 0.087$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.087$ $\times$ $$139$ = $$12.09$ You would pay $$12.09$ in sales tax.